>>2522170aesthetics/symbolism
angels were not supposed to reflect the natural world we were used to, they were (to use a more literal interpretation) supernatural, they were idealized, flawless, perfect in appearance, so it makes sense that they'd paint the wings in a very flattened standardized way, because to make them more flawed and "realistic" looking would be to besmirch god's power
>>2522175B) it was an accepted style and no person dared deviate from it
a bit of this as well, it all depends on the era the painting came from, styles changed a lot throughout the years/different geographical regions
